Sometimes in deadpooling, playing the long game pays off… Joe Longthorne was first diagnosed with a terminal illness in 1989, around the time of his first Royal Variety Performance gig. He repeatedly popped up on deadpoolers’ radars again over the years: leukemia in 2005 and throat cancer in 2016, but it was 2019 that finally saw him take a final bow. When he wasn’t busy suffering from various forms of cancer, Longthorne was a popular – if corny – entertainer of the old school variety: regional theatre appearances, light entertainment spots on ITV shows and impressions of Frank Sinatra. And really, taking 25 years to fucking die is as good a Sinatra impression as anyone.
Joe Longthorne
31 May 1955 – 3 August 2019
Died aged 64 (unique hit)